Florida Seller of Travel Bond
Florida's Sellers of Travel Act does not stop at the state line. Under F.S. §559.927, a seller of travel is any “resident or nonresident person, firm, corporation, or business entity” that offers travel “to persons in Florida” — so an agency headquartered in Ohio or Georgia that books Florida snowbirds owes the same registration and bond as a Miami storefront. Once you're in scope, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) requires a $25,000 performance bond, rising to $50,000 if you offer vacation certificates.
Bond amount
$25K–$50K
as low as $10K if you qualify
Who's in scope
FL residents
as customers — office location irrelevant
Obligee
FDACS
for the benefit of injured consumers
- Who requires it: The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), under F.S. 559.929, for a Seller of Travel registration.
- Amount: $25,000 base bond; $50,000 if the seller offers vacation certificates or vouchers.
- Timing: Same-day submission; most quotes within one business day.
FDACS regulates who sells to Florida residents — not who's based here
Most seller-of-travel guides written for other states assume the registering party has an office inside the state's borders. Florida's statute is written differently. F.S. §559.927 defines “offer for sale” as making travel representations or arranging bookings “by a seller of travel who maintains a business location in Florida or who offers to sell to persons in Florida.” The two clauses are joined by “or,” not “and” — either one puts you in scope on its own.
In practice, that reach catches agencies whose owners never expected it: a Denver-based cruise specialist marketing to Florida retirees online, a Midwest tour operator running an annual charter to Orlando, or a national booking site with a meaningful share of Florida traffic. None of them have a Florida address. All of them are “offering to sell to persons in Florida” the moment a Florida resident is in their customer base.
Official Florida Requirements
""Seller of travel" means any resident or nonresident person, firm, corporation, or business entity that offers, directly or indirectly, prearranged travel or tourist-related services for individuals or groups... "Offer for sale" [applies to] a seller of travel who maintains a business location in Florida or who offers to sell to persons in Florida."Florida Statutes, Chapter 559, Part XI • Fla. Stat. § 559.927
The $10,000 floor most guides skip — Florida's gross-sales reduction schedule
$25,000 is the statutory ceiling for a category-(a) seller that doesn't offer vacation certificates — not a flat requirement. Florida Administrative Code Rule 5J-9.006, adopted under F.S. §559.929, lets an established, non-certificate seller file a Security Reduction Application and post less, scaled to gross annual sales:
Florida Seller of Travel — Security Reduction Schedule (non-certificate sellers)
Fla. Admin. Code R. 5J-9.006 · requires 1+ year under the same ownership and control
Under $500K gross sales
$10,000
Established sellers (1+ year, same ownership) with annual gross sales under $500,000.
Lowest available security for category (a) non-certificate sellers
$500K–$1M gross sales
$15,000
Same one-year ownership requirement, next gross-sales band.
$1M–$2M gross sales
$20,000
Largest reduction band before the requirement returns to the full statutory amount.
New business or no reduction requested
$25,000
Under one year in operation, over $2M in gross sales, or no Security Reduction Application filed.
The statutory ceiling for category (a) non-certificate sellers
Fla. Admin. Code R. 5J-9.006 (Security Requirement), adopted under Fla. Stat. § 559.929
The one figure that never moves: Rule 5J-9.006 gives no reduction to vacation-certificate sellers. Offer certificates and you post the full $50,000 under F.S. §559.929, regardless of gross sales or years in business. The reduction schedule only applies to base-category (a) sellers, too: under §559.9285(1), a seller that sells travel to a Florida-designated terrorist state must certify under category (b) or (c) instead — those sit outside the reduction schedule entirely, at $100,000–$300,000 (see the fee table below).
Official Florida Requirements
""[A seller] may request to reduce its security to $10,000" if it has "been in operation under the same ownership and control for at least one year" with gross sales under $500,000. "The amount of the security for sellers of travel that do not offer vacation certificates shall be $25,000" absent an approved reduction."Florida Administrative Code, Rule 5J-9.006 (Security Requirement) • Fla. Admin. Code R. 5J-9.006
The 5-year waiver — a base-tier benefit, not a general escape hatch
FDACS can waive the bond entirely for a category-(a) seller who documents 5 or more consecutive years of Florida seller-of-travel experience in compliance with the Act, no pending civil, criminal, or administrative actions, and a satisfactory consumer complaint history — meaning no unresolved complaints on file with the department. This is why some long-running Florida agencies legally operate with no bond at all.
The limitation that trips people up: the statute explicitly excludes sellers certified under category (b) or (c) from the waiver, regardless of track record. Categories (b) and (c) aren't a size tier — F.S. §559.9285(1) assigns them to a seller that sells travel to a Florida-designated terrorist state, at the $100,000–$300,000 bond level. If that applies to your business, the bond stays mandatory no matter how many claim-free years you have on file.
The independent-agent path — sell under a host's registration instead of your own bond
Florida recognizes a specific category — the independent agent — for solo agents who sell on behalf of an already-registered host agency. Meet all four conditions below and you can file an Independent Agent Statement of Exemption with FDACS and operate under your host's registration number, without registering or bonding separately:
Written contract with a seller of travel that is currently registered and in compliance
You solicit sales on the host's behalf — you don't operate an independent seller-of-travel business
You never receive a fee or commission directly from the purchaser
You never hold unissued ticket stock, travel documents, or the ability to issue tickets or vacation certificates
Independent agents filing under this exemption still pay FDACS a $50 annual filing fee — far less than the $300+ registration fee plus a standalone bond. The moment you start taking client payment in your own name or holding your own ticket stock, the exemption stops applying and you need your own $25,000 (or $50,000) registration and bond.
Know your category and vacation-certificate status? Lock your FDACS bond quote now.
Get Your QuoteWho's fully exempt under F.S. §559.935
Beyond independent agents, the Act carves out categories that never register or bond in the first place, because they aren't acting as a seller of travel under the statute's definition:
- Bona fide employees of a registered seller of travel, engaged solely in their employer's business
- Federally regulated interstate common carriers of passengers or property, and their employees
- State-regulated intrastate carriers selling only transportation services, and their employees
- Hotels and lodging facilities making confirmed reservations or arranging in-Florida sightseeing tours
- Persons dealing only in the rental, leasing, or sale of residential real property
- Persons dealing only in the rental, leasing, or sale of transportation vehicles
- Entities arranging travel only for themselves, employees, business partners, or affiliated entities
- Timeshare plan developers and approved exchange companies under Florida condominium law
- Dive operators coordinating travel solely in connection with diving-related events
Established Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) contractors also qualify for reduced compliance requirements under a separate provision of §559.935 if they meet specific tenure and operational criteria. If your business fits one of these categories, confirm your specific exemption in writing with FDACS before treating registration as optional — the exemptions are narrowly drawn.
Registration fees stack on top of the bond premium
The bond premium is separate from what FDACS itself charges. Budget for both when you register under F.S. §559.928. Note that category isn't a size tier you grow into — F.S. §559.9285(1) assigns category (a) to sellers who don't sell travel to a Florida-designated terrorist state (this covers the overwhelming majority of agencies), and reserves (b) and (c) for sellers who do:
| Category | Annual FDACS fee | Bond amount |
|---|---|---|
| Category (a) — no terrorist-state travel sales | $300/yr | $25,000 ($50,000 with vacation certs +$100/yr) |
| Category (b) — sells only terrorist-state travel | $1,000/yr | $100,000 ($150,000 with vacation certs) |
| Category (c) — terrorist-state travel + other dealings | $2,500/yr | $250,000 ($300,000 with vacation certs) |
| Independent sales agent | $50/yr | None — operates under host's bond |
Bond premium is a percentage of the penal sum, not the full amount. For the $25,000 category-(a) bond, applicants with standard credit typically see premiums in the low hundreds of dollars per year; the $50,000 vacation-certificate tier and the $100,000–$300,000 categories scale up from there. Your exact rate depends on personal and business credit — see how surety bond pricing works or start with the bad-credit surety bond guide if your credit isn't pristine.
Selling to Florida residents unregistered is a criminal violation, not a paperwork gap
F.S. §559.937 makes any violation of the Sellers of Travel Act a first-degree misdemeanor, and FDACS holds separate civil-penalty and administrative-remedy authority under §559.936 and §559.9355. Beyond the statutory exposure, operating without the bond means a harmed Florida consumer has no FDACS-backed security standing behind their prepayment if the trip falls through — precisely the protection the Act was written to guarantee.
Other Florida travel & business bonds
Florida seller of travel bond questions
My agency is in Georgia and I've never set foot in Florida — does FDACS still require me to register?
Very likely yes. F.S. §559.927 defines "offer for sale" to cover a seller of travel "who maintains a business location in Florida or who offers to sell to persons in Florida" — the second half of that phrase is the one out-of-state agencies miss. The statute's "seller of travel" definition is explicitly written to reach "any resident or nonresident person, firm, corporation, or business entity." If your marketing, booking site, or sales calls reach Florida residents, your Georgia address does not exempt you. Registering (and posting the bond) is a Florida obligation triggered by your customer's location, not your office's.
What exactly triggers the $50,000 tier instead of $25,000?
Offering vacation certificates. Under F.S. §559.929, a seller of travel certified under the base category (§559.9285(1)(a)) posts a performance bond "in an amount up to $25,000, or in the amount of $50,000 if the seller of travel is offering vacation certificates." A vacation certificate is a pre-paid travel credential — a voucher, coupon, or similar instrument redeemable later for lodging or a package — sold or issued to a purchaser rather than a completed, dated booking. If none of your products fit that description, you stay in the $25,000 ceiling (and may qualify for the reduction schedule below it). The moment you add a certificate product to your lineup, the requirement locks at $50,000 with no reduction available, and you also owe FDACS an additional $100 annual document-submission fee under the certificate rules.
Can I actually get my Florida bond reduced below $25,000?
Yes, if you don't sell vacation certificates. Florida Administrative Code Rule 5J-9.006 lets a seller that has "been in operation under the same ownership and control for at least one year" file a Security Reduction Application scaled to gross annual sales: under $500,000 in sales reduces the requirement to $10,000, $500,000–$1,000,000 to $15,000, and $1,000,000–$2,000,000 to $20,000. Brand-new businesses (under one year) and anyone who skips the application default to the full $25,000. This is separate from the 5-year bond waiver below — the reduction schedule is available much earlier, at one year in business, but it lowers the bond rather than eliminating it.
Can I skip registering and bonding by working as an independent agent under a host agency?
Sometimes, and it's a real path — not a loophole. Florida recognizes an "independent agent" who solicits travel sales on behalf of a registered seller of travel under a written contract, provided the agent never receives a fee or commission directly from the purchaser, never holds unissued ticket stock or travel documents, and has no ability to issue tickets or vacation certificates. Agents who meet all four conditions can file an Independent Agent Statement of Exemption and operate under their host's FDACS registration number instead of registering (and bonding) separately. The disqualifiers are specific: the moment you take payment in your own name or hold ticket stock, you fall out of the exemption and need your own registration and bond.
Does Florida ever waive the bond for established agencies?
Yes, but only for the base tier. F.S. §559.929 lets FDACS waive the security requirement for an applicant who documents "5 or more consecutive years of experience as a seller of travel in this state in compliance with this part," no pending civil, criminal, or administrative actions, and a satisfactory consumer complaint history. The statute is explicit that a seller of travel certified under the higher categories — §559.9285(1)(b) or (c), the $100,000–$300,000 tiers that F.S. §559.9285(1) assigns to sellers offering travel to a Florida-designated terrorist state — is not entitled to this waiver at all. So the waiver is realistically a base-tier benefit for agencies with a clean, multi-year Florida track record, not a general escape hatch.
What happens if I sell travel to Florida residents without registering?
It is a criminal matter, not a licensing footnote. F.S. §559.937 makes any violation of the Sellers of Travel Act a first-degree misdemeanor, and FDACS separately has civil-penalty and administrative-remedy authority under §559.936 and §559.9355. Beyond the statutory exposure, an unregistered, unbonded seller has no FDACS-backed security standing behind the transaction if a customer prepays and the trip falls through — which is the exact scenario Florida consumers are told to check for before they book. Registering and posting the bond before you actively sell to Florida residents is the only clean position.
How much are the FDACS registration fees on top of the bond premium?
They stack by category. FDACS charges an annual registration fee of $300 for category (a) — the $25,000/$50,000 tier that covers virtually every ordinary travel agency — versus $1,000 for category (b) and $2,500 for category (c), the categories F.S. §559.9285(1) reserves for sellers offering travel to a Florida-designated terrorist state. Sellers offering vacation certificates add a $100 annual document-submission fee on top of the base registration fee. Independent sales agents filing under a host's registration pay a separate $50 annual filing fee instead of the full registration. None of these are bond premium — they're paid directly to FDACS regardless of which surety writes your bond.
All content is researched from official state and federal sources (.gov). BuySuretyBonds.com works with Treasury-listed surety carriers.
General information, not legal, financial, or underwriting advice. Florida seller-of-travel requirements are governed by F.S. §§559.926–559.939 and administered by FDACS; bond amounts, fees, exemptions, and waiver criteria can change. Confirm current requirements with FDACS and the statute, and request a quote for current pricing.
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Whether you're a Miami storefront or an out-of-state agency booking Florida customers, we quote the $25,000 or $50,000 category-(a) bond — and route independent agents to the exemption path when they qualify.
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